


build your heart around me (never let me go)

by NightsMeridian



Series: Slivers of hope [3]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, I figured we all deserved a pick me up, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and the show itself, no but seriously after everything in this series of fics so far, post 3x05 fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-05 21:12:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12802491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightsMeridian/pseuds/NightsMeridian
Summary: Sometimes, in moments like these, it still surprised her that she was able to fall even deeper in love with Alex. She had thought that it would take them longer to work their way back to what they had before they broke up. The trust, the connection, the love shared between them. She had wanted to be more cautious, more protective of her heart after the months spend trying to mend herself back together.But loving Alex had always been too easy.And she had never truly been able to stop in the first place.





	build your heart around me (never let me go)

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third fic in my series, and it's surprisingly angst-free. They can be read by themselves, but there are some callbacks to the previous fics in this series. Mostly it's just Alex and Maggie processing and I wanted them away somewhere just by themselves to accomplish this. I love me some bottle episodes, so it's kind of inspired by that too.
> 
> Thank you for reading.

 

 

* * *

 

“Ow,” Maggie cursed as she grabbed her head, “are you trying to surprise me or give me a concussion?”

“Are you seriously complaining about a small bump in the road?”   


“Small bump my ass, I nearly flew against the roof there,” Maggie groused, rubbing at the sore spot at the side of her head. 

She hated not being able to see a thing and though she was excited to find out what Alex had in store for them, the fact that she didn’t have a clue about where they were going was making her impatient. Impatient enough for her to once again lift a hand towards the blindfold obscuring her vision and attempting to steal just a tiny peek.

“Stop that,” Alex’s voice immediately rang out and Maggie pouted, lowering her hand back to her lap.

“Aren’t you supposed to keep an eye out on the road instead,” Maggie grumbled.

“I can do both,” Alex shot back. “And I know your tells by now, it’s not hard to figure out when you’re up to something. Maybe I should’ve just handcuffed you after all.”

“Hmm,” Maggie hummed, licking her lips and tilting her head in what she hoped was Alex’s general direction. “Well there’s always next time, isn’t there?”

There was no response other than a sharp intake of breath and Maggie knew even without being able to see it, that Alex was likely turning a nice shade of red. 

She spluttered something Maggie wasn’t able to understand before clearing her throat, “we’re uhm...we’re almost there.”

“Are we?” Maggie remarked with a raise of her eyebrow. “Could’ve sworn we’ve been driving in circles for a while now.” She just knew Alex was rolling her eyes in response and smirked. 

“Which would make sense if you’re driving us to yet another secret base of yours.” She air-quoted the secret base part and laughed when Alex let out a huff in annoyance. “You do realize half of National City has been inside your so-called secret base and the other half is just humoring you by pretending they don’t know what’s going on inside of that place.”

Alex snorted and Maggie could feel the car slip a little in what felt like some snowdrift on the road. “Need I remind you, you had no idea about the DEO whatsoever when we met.”

“Please,” Maggie scoffed, “I took me what, a day and a half to figure out you were DEO and to let me into that fancy base of operations of yours.”

“You were a little singed, didn’t seem right to just leave you behind and fend for yourself.”

“Uh-huh,” Maggie said while turning her head slightly to what she knew was the window of the car. They drove past some bright lights that briefly pierced the dark strip of cloth obscuring her vision, before everything turned pitch black again.

“You were trying to impress me, weren’t you?”

“I plead the fifth.”

Maggie chuckled, then perked up when she felt the car take a sharp turn before slowing down significantly. 

“I can’t believe my gaydar didn’t go full tilt until you were practically trying to ask me out.”

“I was not trying to…”

She turned Alex’s way and cocked an eyebrow, even though she knew the effect was likely neutralized by the blindfold. The soft little huff that followed was barely discernible over the noise the car was making as it drove over gravel and mushy snow alike.

“You’re never gonna let that one go, are you?” Alex asked as the car came to a full stop.

“Not really no, I only regret that I’m not able to see your face right now.”

“Well I’m afraid the blindfold will have to stay on a little bit longer.”

Maggie sighed in frustration and fumbled a little with the seatbelt before she managed to free herself. The door opened just as she reached for the handle and a gust of ice cold wind blasted her in the face, stinging her nose. 

“Let me help you, it’s a bit of a mess in the parking lot,” Alex said and Maggie felt slightly cold fingers gently lacing themselves with her own. 

She exited the car slowly, making a face when her boots sank away into the slush covering the ground. “You sure picked a day to surprise me, Danvers,” Maggie muttered.

“Well if I had known half of the antarctic’s snow supply would drop down on top of the city overnight I would’ve picked a different day,” Alex remarked sarcastically. 

Maggie cottoned onto the hint of insecurity in Alex’s voice and squeezed the hand holding her own. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

Though every now and then she felt the cool, feather-like sensations of flakes of snow melting on the exposed skin of her face and she knew from the weather report that a few more inches were predicted overnight.

“Though I guess this definitely confirms it’s not a secret base you’re bringing me to,” she said when Alex slowly started to lead them somewhere.

“What’s with your sudden obsession with secret bases?” 

“Well, you still owe me that flash grenade, figured there was a high chance there would be some in any of your bases.”

She heard Alex chuckle beside her and grinned. “I’m not giving you _ any  _ grenades. Ever”

“We’ll see about that,” Maggie replied and squeezed Alex’s hand again.

“Uh-huh.”

She turned her head towards Alex’s voice and wished, not for the first time that evening, that she would be able to see her girlfriend’s face. See the familiar sparkle of amusement in her eyes, the way the corners of her mouth curved upwards into a affectionate smile as it usually did when they bantered like this.

They passed by what she assumed to be a streetlight in the parking lot and Maggie turned to face into the direction of the faint light for a moment, thinking of earlier in the day when Alex had guided her to the car and insisted on blindfolding her for the ride. She had to admit there was something about the mystery of not knowing what Alex had planned for her. And considering how busy they had both been the past few weeks, she wondered how Alex had even found the time to make any kind of arrangements at all.

There was also something about trusting Alex like this, the way her free hand gently rested on the small of her back and steered her into a certain direction. 

They side-stepped something and the crisp crunching sound of frozen snow underneath her boots confirmed they were moving along the edge of a path that had likely been mostly cleared of snow earlier on the day.

“Sorry, it was a little muddy back there,” Alex explained and gently helped her take a few more steps through heavy snow that felt as if it came up past her ankles. 

The sound of keys clinking together suddenly reached her ears and Maggie frowned, wondering once again where Alex had taken them to. She could hear Alex fumble a little with the keys before apparently finding the right one as there was the familiar clicking sound of something unlocking, followed by a door opening with a soft creak. 

“Still not gonna take the blindfold off?” Maggie wondered when she felt herself be led across the threshold of something.

“Really soon, I promise.”   
  
“You’re killing me here, Danvers,” Maggie complained with a sigh. 

She heard Alex’s familiar chuckle coming from somewhere behind her and then all of a sudden it was a lot brighter all around her and she realized Alex had turned on some lights. She still wasn’t able to figure out anything of her surroundings otherwise and some cautious feeling around with her hands in front of her didn’t yield anything either. It felt a lot warmer inside of wherever they were however and the tips of her fingers tingled as circulation returned to them.

In front of her she heard things being moved around. The scraping sound of something heavy being pushed aside and Alex cursing as she seemingly struggled with it made her chuckle softly. 

“Need some help there?”   
  
“No, I…almost,” a grunt, followed by some more expletives and Maggie couldn’t help the soft shake of her head. “There, got it,” Alex said after the sounds suddenly stopped and she exhaled loudly. “Sorry, I didn’t expect them to block off half the entrance.” 

Alex’s hand as it grasped her own, was surprisingly warm and Maggie enjoyed the feeling of their fingers weaving together. It never failed to remind her of the first time Alex had initiated this kind of contact between them, amber eyes full of affection and an almost shy smile on her face. They had walked across the street after getting some coffee together. It had been cold then too, but she remembered all too well how Alex holding her hand had filled her up with a suffusing kind of warmth; an ever growing love.

She heard another door opening in front of her and Alex guided her through it, before closing it again behind them. 

Almost immediately she was surprised by the smell that reached her nose. Even with the blindfold across her eyes, she still closed them almost instinctively. She breathed in a lungful of air, relishing the crisp smell of freshly cut grass. It mixed in with the clean smell of nature that hung around them and she smiled when she picked up on the tranquil sound of clattering water in the distance.

It was quiet otherwise, but a lot warmer than outside and already the heavy winter coat she was wearing was starting to become suffocating to her.

She could feel Alex behind her and her heartbeat accelerated when nimble fingers toyed with the loosely tied knot that secured the blindfold across her eyes.

When it fell away she blinked to clear her vision for a moment, before gasping in surprise at the sight that greeted her.

“Alex…” she whispered, not knowing what else to say.

In front of her was a small forest of tropical trees, bushes and a wild variety of plants. A narrow stone path, illuminated by lanterns spread along its length, winded around the trees with overhanging branches forming a green canopy over it. Everything was bathed in ethereal yellow-orange glow as far as she could see, until the path disappeared into the undergrowth.

The rest of the scenery was dimly lit by small lights built into the ground and hidden amongst the plants, highlighting numerous spots around the garden. A few of them were aimed at the ceiling of the glass dome, and Maggie was able to make out the curtain of snowflakes that still descended down from the heavens. 

She slowly turned to face Alex again, smile widening until her dimples popped. 

“How…” she wondered out loud when she realized it was just the two of them in the garden.

“Someone owed me a few favors,” Alex said, eyes flicking towards her feet in what Maggie had come to acknowledge as one of Alex’s nervous tells.

“Hey,” Maggie said as she stepped up to Alex and tilted her head slightly to the side so she could look her in the eyes. “It’s..it’s absolutely perfect Alex. I have no idea how you managed to pull it off, but wow, okay?” she exhaled on a breathy tone as she took in the scenery around them again. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah?” Alex inquired softly, her eyes like warm brown pools brightened by the flickering flames dancing in the lanterns nearby.

“Yeah,” Maggie confirmed and drew Alex in for a soft kiss that melted her insides. They both kept it light, exploratory and Maggie closed her eyes, her entire being filling up with the love she felt for the woman in her arms.

“Well,” Alex whispered softly, brushing her nose alongside hers for a moment in an eskimo kiss, “I once heard someone mentioning how you deserved to be romanced by a woman who’s absolutely crazy about you.”

“Sounds like a smart person, maybe you should date her,” Maggie quipped while grinning at the amused look on Alex’s face.

“And you call me a nerd.”

She chuckled, then sighed softly when Alex reconnected their lips again in a kiss that took her breath away. One of Alex’s hands settled on her cheek and Maggie could feel her thumb stroking along her jawline as they kissed.

When they broke a few seconds later, Alex slipped her hand into her own again and Maggie smiled at the carefree expression etched across Alex’s features. After the few harrowing weeks they had, she figured that maybe they both had needed something like this. An evening to themselves with no emergency at either of their workplaces to interrupt them. 

“Where are we going?” She questioned after they removed their coats and hung them over a small fence to dry, and Alex had started leading them down the stone path.

“You’ll see.”

“More surprises?”

“Something like that,” Alex replied cryptically and Maggie rose an eyebrow in silent question.

She noticed Alex was still slightly nervous as they walked along the path and stopped to appreciate a few flowers in bloom. It was an odd collection of reds and oranges, woven together in a mismatched pattern and she wasn’t in the least surprised to hear Alex call them by name and explain where they originated from. Though she only paid half attention to Alex’s words, too smitten by the little lights that seemed to twinkle in her eyes as she animatedly explained things to her.

Sometimes, in moments like these, it still surprised her that she was able to fall even deeper in love with Alex. She had thought that it would take them longer to work their way back to what they had before they broke up. The trust, the connection, the love shared between them. She had wanted to be more cautious, more protective of her heart after the months spend trying to mend herself back together. 

But loving Alex had always been too easy.

And she had never truly been able to stop in the first place.

“What’s on your mind?” Alex asked her and Maggie blinked, flushing slightly as she realized she had been caught staring at her.

“You,” Maggie admitted, eyes flicking down to one of the lanterns before she met Alex’s affectionate gaze, “how much I love you.”

Alex’s answering smile lit up her entire face and she tugged Maggie forward by the hand to briefly capture her lips in a tender kiss. 

“Guess we’ve both reduced the other to a sappy mess,” Alex said, running her fingers through a lock of Maggie’s hair.

“Yeah, better not tell anyone at our respective workplaces, wouldn’t want to compromise our badass imagery,” Maggie leaned into Alex, her attention drawn to the shadows cast by the lantern’s flames as they danced along a handful of palm trees.

Alex laughed and tugged at her hand again, dragging her further along the path. “I think that was compromised after the first time we were caught kissing each other at said respective workplaces.”

Maggie smiled and took in the small rock formation they passed by. There were some hanging plants growing from the top of it, covering most of the surface until it almost reached the mossy ground below. A small stream of slowly flowing water was right next to it and Maggie followed it with her eyes until she noticed the pond a little further in the distance. The path they were following lead to a bridge that crossed the pond and she was in awe at the sparse lights set up underneath the bridge, engulfing it in a soft light blue glow. 

A single lantern was hanging from the railing of one edge of the bridge and Maggie exchanged a warm look with Alex for a moment before they both walked over to it.

“Like something out of a fairytale,” Maggie mused out loud as she leaned against the railing and looked across the water. 

“It really is, figured you’d like it,” Alex said and leaned her head against Maggie’s shoulder.

A small raised platform was sitting in the middle of the pond, shaped in the form of a triangle. On each corner there was a small light aimed across the water’s surface, casting a kind of ethereal glow across the entire pond and the water lilies floating in it.

On the far edge there was a small waterfall coming down from another rock formation and Maggie realized that this was the source of the clattering water she had picked up on when they had entered the garden initially.

“You been here before?” Maggie inquired after they had stood in silence for a while.

“A few times. Been a while though. Took Kara here once a few years ago, after I had just joined the DEO. We went at a really quiet hour and she enjoyed the tranquility, the lack of activity everywhere compared to the city. I know she still visits every now and then.”

Maggie nodded. “I get that. I can’t say I miss Blue Springs otherwise, but I sometimes do miss the peacefulness of living in a small town.”

“Is that what you might envision for the future?” Alex asked her and Maggie blinked for a moment, caught off guard by the serious turn their conversation had taken.

“Living in a small town again?” Maggie inquired. At Alex’s nod she turned to stare across the water for a moment, fingers tracing the grooves in the railing she was leaning against. “Maybe. I wouldn’t be opposed to it at least.” 

She thought it over for another second and smiled faintly at the imagery that came to mind. 

“When Kara was in a coma I sometimes talked to her about the plans I was trying to make for a future together with you. I mentioned how I wanted a house with a decent backyard, plenty of space for a dog to run around it.”

Alex stayed quiet after she had finished talking and Maggie swallowed before catching her eyes.

“I’m not sure about moving to some rural town,” Alex finally admitted as she drew circles on the railing of the bridge. “But there should be plenty of houses with nice backyards at the edges of National City. And you’re right,” she continued, brown eyes shimmering with love as they locked gazes for a long moment. “A dog does need plenty of space to run around in.”

Maggie grinned when Alex smiled before inclining her head to the path they had been following.

“We’re still not naming her Gertrude though.”

“We’ll see about that,” Alex said and Maggie chuckled in response.

She followed after Alex and was surprised when she suddenly stepped off the path and ducked underneath the thick branch of a tree. There was a small clearing behind the set of trees and Maggie was rendered speechless when she saw what Alex had set up for them.

An assortment of thick blankets were spread across the grass and a dozen large pillows, ranging in colors from grey to dark brown, were stacked on top of them. The small wooden table that sat next to the trees had a single lantern on the very edge of it, most of the surface having been taken by 3 baskets that looked to be full of food and plates and cutlery were laid out next to the baskets. When Maggie walked closer, she noticed a bucket filled with ice leaning against one of the table legs and the two bottles of white wine that poked out from edge of the bucket.

“I..” Maggie stammered and turned to Alex, shaking her head softly as she leaned in to kiss her girlfriend on the lips. “I can’t even imagine how you managed to pull all this off,” she murmured as she wrapped her arms around Alex’s shoulders and leaned their foreheads together.

“Truthfully, I did have some help,” Alex admitted. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, eyes averting to the pile of blankets and pillows. “It’s not too much?” she inquired on a tentative tone.

Maggie cupped her chin and slowly made Alex turn to meet her eyes again. “Alex, no” she murmured as traced her cheeks reverently, “everything is perfect.”

 

* * *

  
  


“It’s still snowing,” Alex remarked as she gazed up at the parts of the dome they were able to see through the canopy of leaves.

“Yeah I’ve been wondering how you were going to get us home,” Maggie replied. “But then I realized you basically have a snowplow and driver in one, on speed dial,” she continued with a laugh.

Alex’s eyes twinkled as she grinned and raised the glass of wine, taking a small sip from it. “Yeah, Kara offered to drive us home, her snow clearing capabilities are just a bonus on top of that.”

Maggie propped herself up a bit more on the blanket, adjusting the pillows she was resting against. She observed Alex quietly for a moment as she stared up at the dome above them again, wondering what was on her mind. 

“You’ve been surprisingly quiet,” she spoke up eventually, breaking the comfortable silence that had enveloped them.

“Yeah uhm...” Alex wouldn’t meet her eyes for a moment and then stood up from their nest of pillows of blankets, scooping up the dirty plates to place them on the table a few feet away. “I’ve just been thinking really.”

“Oh?”

Alex fidgeted, eyes slightly glassy as if she wasn’t entirely in the moment. But then she seemed to snap out of it and just smiled faintly. “Nothing...important really,” she said and Maggie tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, easily picking up on something being off about Alex’s behavior.

“I’m kind of glad I picked the botanical garden for this though.”

Maggie recognized a change of subject when she heard one, but she decided to let it slide for now.

“You had something else in mind at first?” Maggie questioned. She smiled when Alex walked back to her and instead of laying back down on the blankets, swung her legs on either side of Maggie’s own to straddle her.

“Yeah,” Alex whispered against her lips. 

A hand slipped along the nape of her neck to bring her in for a lazy kiss, the other framing her jaw to guide their movements. She briefly captured Alex’s lower lip, snaring it between her teeth and sucked softly on it, enjoying the answering moan welling up from Alex’s throat. 

“Uhm,” Alex hummed when their broke away from each other a few moments later. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were nearly black with desire. 

Maggie’s own chest was heaving, desire coiling low in her belly. She leaned in to reconnect her lips but to her surprise found Alex slowly standing back up on shaky legs.

“I uhh...well maybe we can continue that later?” Alex murmured, licking her lips. “I still had a few other things I wanted to show you first.”

“Well it depends a little,” Maggie said with a tilt of her head, cheeks dimpling as she smirked at the confusion etched across Alex’s features.

“On?”   


“On if you still have that blindfold lying around somewhere.”

“Uh,” Alex choked on the sip of wine she had been taking. She recovered surprisingly quickly however and Maggie felt her heartbeat accelerate at the cocky little smirk that suddenly appeared on Alex’s face. “Possibly. Unfortunately left the handcuffs in the trunk of the car though.”

Maggie swallowed as a barrage of mental imagery assaulted her with the mention of the handcuffs. “Definitely something to revisit later,” she muttered and refilled her glass of wine, immediately taking a large gulp from the glass straight afterwards.

Alex chuckled and then sat back down again. “I wanted to take you to an observatory actually,” she spoke up, eyes trained on the ceiling of the dome. “But I’m kind of glad I didn’t because the snow would’ve certainly put a dampener on that plan.”

“Why did you decide on the garden instead?”

“Well I checked National City’s observatory and it kind of pales in comparison to the one in Metropolis. I had an idea of the constellations I wanted to show you, the stories I wanted to tell you about some of the planets. Being able to actually see the planets and constellations was kind of an essential part of that plan.” 

“We can still visit the one in Metropolis sometimes,” Maggie offered up. She had to admit the idea did seem appealing to her. “I do love looking at the stars. In Nebraska there wasn’t as much light pollution as there is here and on a clear day the sky was filled with stars, it was kind of breathtaking and I sometimes do miss that kind of view.”

Alex smiled at her and Maggie sighed contently when she slowly carded a hand through her hair and placed a kiss on her neck.

“It was a little bit like that in Midvale too. My mom and dad used to stargaze a lot. My dad he..” Alex paused for a moment and Maggie swung an arm around her shoulder and brought their bodies a little closer together. 

“He taught me a lot about the stars. I loved the stories he used to tell me.” She smiled sadly for a moment as she looked up. “I like that I at least have those memories of him. I’d like to think it’s a part of him I’ll always have with me.”

Maggie pressed a kiss to the crown of Alex’s head and they sat together in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Eventually she could feel Alex’s gaze on her and Maggie turned her head to look Alex in the eyes.

“I love you,” Alex murmured softly, kissing her briefly and then standing up.

“I love you too,” Maggie answered back, though she was confused when Alex disappeared from view.

A moment later she returned, with a much smaller basket than the ones they had emptied earlier in her hands.

Maggie lifted an eyebrow in silent question and was surprised when Alex sat back down next to her, removing a small plastic box from the basket. Alex popped the lid on the box and Maggie’s eyes lighted up when she noticed the single slice of tiramisu inside of it.

“I don’t even want to know where you pulled that basket from, but I’m starting to love your surprises Danvers.”

“Thought you might,” Alex said with a grin, offering Maggie a fork so she was able to dig in. “As for where I got it from, well, I lived with a bottomless pit of an alien sister with x-ray vision for the better part of my life. Let’s just say I got really creative with where to stash my snacks and comfort foods.”

Maggie laughed and then moaned softly when she tasted the first bite of tiramisu. “That’s some really good stuff.” 

“Yeah I’m not telling you where I got it from, but there are few more slices hidden away once we get home.”   


“Did I tell you I loved you yet?” Maggie said while taking another bite. “You’re really spoiling me.”

“You deserve to be spoiled though. And it’s not often we manage to have an evening to ourselves like this, I figured I might as well go all out.”

Maggie nodded and felt her stomach do flips at the love shining in Alex’s eyes as she watched her inhale the tiramisu. She was almost disappointed when she finished the last bite, pouting upon finding mere crumbs left of the tasty treat.

“You almost outdid Kara there,” Alex said with a chuckle, offering her the glass of discarded wine.

“Nobody outdoes Kara,” Maggie countered. “I swear the first time I saw her eat her way through 4 pizzas in a row my eyes almost fell out of my head.”

“Yeah, now you know why we always order out. Try explaining at a restaurant how she not only ordered everything on the menu, but polished it off to come back for seconds to boot.”

Maggie laughed and shook her head. “I think that’s actually a good reason to take her out somewhere sometimes, I bet everybody’s reactions would be priceless.”

“Only if you’re paying for the bill,” Alex muttered and Maggie chuckled, taking a small sip from her wine.

Alex pulled her a little tighter against her body and Maggie shifted a little so she could lay her head in Alex’s lap.

She noticed the uncharacteristic silence again and a glance to the side revealed Alex to be seemingly deep in thought.

“Babe?”

“Hmm?”

“Still gonna insist there’s nothing important on your mind?”

“I…” Alex sighed and Maggie flicked her eyes across Alex’s face, trying to gauge her mood. “Do you..remember when we talked about soulmates?” 

“Oh,” Maggie whispered, propping herself up more in a sitting position so she could look Alex in the eyes. “Yeah…” she murmured, feeling herself drift back to the memory of sitting outside on Alex’s balcony. “Yeah, I do.” She also remembered how that evening had ended, the devastated look in Alex’s eyes as Maggie had left the apartment. 

She nervously rubbed at her chin and avoided Alex’s attempt to catch her eyes.

“Hey…” Alex said softly and Maggie swallowed at the intensity of Alex’s gaze when they looked at each other. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you by bringing that back up. It’s just...it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. Especially with everything that happened recently.”

Maggie nodded and was surprised when Alex stood up and extended one of her hands. “Let me show you one more thing, okay?” Alex said as she pulled her up and into a warm embrace for a moment. 

Alex walked to the table, grabbing the lantern by the hoop and Maggie knitted her eyebrows together as she tried to figure out what Alex was up to. “You okay with grabbing the bottle of wine and our glasses?”

“Yeah,” Maggie murmured and followed after Alex as she walked back to the path they had been following.

She was still trying to process why Alex brought up a conversation they had over half a year ago and didn’t really pay as much attention to her surroundings as she had earlier on the evening. Maybe that’s why it came as a surprise when they arrived at a spiraling set of stairs that led upwards to a small glass dome above their heads.

Alex glanced across her shoulder as she started to ascend the stairs and flashed her a smile, “I figured I’d save this until last.”

“Does that mean there’s no surprise flash grenades?” Maggie quipped in an attempt to divert her own thoughts away from the things Alex had said.

“I’m  _ never _ giving you any grenades.”

“So you keep saying,” Maggie chuckled. 

They rounded one more corner and Maggie was speechless when they arrived at the top. She was immediately drawn to the glass windows encasing the small lookout post. Placing the bottle of wine and glasses on the floor, her gaze briefly rested on the single blanket and set of pillows close to the window and her chest filled with warmth at Alex’s thoughtfulness. 

The view from this height was absolutely stunning and Maggie was unable to tear her eyes away from the dozens of lights illuminating the small forest below. She found the small pond and the bridge they had walked across and even from this distance it looked almost magical.

“You were right to save this for last,” Maggie whispered softly.

“Yeah,” Alex’s voice came from somewhere behind her and Maggie sighed and closed her eyes when she felt Alex’s arms wrap around her waist, head resting on her shoulder. “It’s certainly something isn’t it?”

“Hmm,” Maggie hummed. She turned her head slightly to the side and brushed one of her hands across Alex’s cheek, exhaling softly when Alex nuzzled into it. 

After a minute of silence Alex scraped her throat and stepped backwards, making Maggie instantly miss the comfort of Alex’s arms around her. “I uhm..I hadn’t really meant to start that conversation down there. I had this whole...speech planned out and such,” Alex muttered, wringing her hands a little as she walked to the glass barrier and pressed her forehead against it.

“I seem to never get those right,” Alex continued with a soft chuckle. Then she turned around and Maggie was captivated by how bright her eyes were in the light exuded by the lantern. “But I meant what I said all those months ago to you. About soulmates...”

“Alex…” she tried to interrupt Alex but a finger pressed to her lips stopped her in her tracks.

“If there is such a thing as soulmates, you are mine, Maggie. You’re a part of me. Half of my heart. And I...I guess I didn’t really realize it until you were gone. I didn’t realize how much I suddenly missed every bit of warmth, of love, you had infused into my life.”

Alex swallowed shakily and Maggie could feel tears well up in her eyes as she stared at the woman in front of her laying herself bare.

“And when we were apart I kept thinking of all those firsts we had promised to each other. The things we didn’t get to do. The things we would never be able to do. I didn’t realize how much I had fallen for you, how deep this love went. I couldn’t stop seeing these firsts in everything around me. I still can’t stop.”

“Alex…” Maggie murmured again, feeling some of the tears slide across her face. She reached out and brought Alex in to tenderly press against her lips, but exhaled with a shudder when she felt Alex kiss away one of her tears. 

Breathing heavily, Alex pressed their foreheads together. “I still want them with you, Maggie. Every single one of them. Our first house together, the dog…” Alex framed her face and Maggie gazed into misty eyes gone bright with emotion.

“And I still want you to…”

Maggie placed her finger on Alex’s lips and smiled so much it almost hurt. “Yes,” she whispered and pressed their lips together in lingering kiss that made her heart burst with joy. “I’ll marry you.”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I did a little research on botanical gardens, but honestly most of it is just made up. I apologize for any inaccuracies but it's a superhero show anyway, so what's a few inaccuracies.


End file.
